Boat drive



United States Patent [72] inventors Bernhardqsswald;

Josef Wilka, Munich, Germany [21] Appl. No. 762,303 [22] Filed Sept. 16,1968

[54] BOAT DRIVE 20 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl "5/34 [51] Int. Cl B63h 1/14, B63h 5/06 [50] Field of Search 1 15/34,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,259,099 7/1966 Kiekhaeferw. 115/34 3,376,842 4/1968 Wynne 115/35 Primary ExaminerTrygve M. Blix AttorneyCraig, Antonelli, Stewart and Hill ABSTRACT: A boat drive which includes an inboard engine and an outboard drive for a ships screw which are connected with each other by a drive transmission extending through the stern of the boat and sealed with respect to the sea water; the inboard engine as well as the outboard drive are secured on a support plate absorbing the weight of the entire drive and arranged at the stern of the boat whereby the engine is supported at and centered in the support plate by means of a frame within an axis extending transversely of the boat through or approximately through the engine's center of gravity and by an elastic element cooperating with a centering neck portion of the engine that surrounds the output shaft thereof.

Patented Sept. 22; 1 970 Shoot BOAT muvs The present invention relates to a boat drive consisting of an inboard engine and of an outboard drive for a ships screw or propeller which are connected by a drive transmission extending through the boats stern and sealed with respect to the sea water whereby both the engine as well as the drive are secured at a support plate receiving the weight of the entire drive and arranged at the stern of the boat.

With such a boat drive, the engine is secured overhung at the support plate exclusively by means of ring-shaped rubber elements over a neck portion protruding from the engine. The

rubber elements thereby serve in a similar manner as elements for the elastic securing and support of the engine as also for the sealing of the engine and of the interior of the boat against penetration of sea water (German Patent 1,125,801

However, this prior art boat drive entails various disadvantages which reside primarily in the double function of the rubber elements because, on the one hand, the rubber elements for the purpose of the bearing support of the engine, have to absorb the weight thereof as well as the movements, vibrations and the like so that, in order to preclude farreachingly the transmission of the movements of the engine to the boat body or hull, the engine support, i.e., the rubber elements have to be constructed relatively soft. On the other hand, the large engine weight requires-in order to assure the alignment of the engine shaft with drive shaft of the boat driverelatively hard bearings which do not permit or permit at least only slight axial displacements. Furthermore, an absolute tightness against penetration of sea water into the interior of the boat should be assured which is not present with a soft construction of the rubber elements because the engine weight causes a tilting movement at the bearing support as a result of the overhung arrangement of the engine and of the short distance of the two bearing and sealing places, whereby both the sealing as well as the alignment of the engine output shaft to the drive shaft of the boat drive are jeopardized.

Furthermore, a boat drive is known in the prior art in which both the driving engine as well as the drive for the ships screw are secured at the stern of the boat itself (US. Pat. No. 3,259,099). The engine is thereby supported in three points on a support frame composed of three mutually independent securing parts which are threadably secured each by itself at the stern. For the purposes of assembly of this prior art type of boat drive, six assembly bores for the threaded connection of the individual parts of the framework have to be provided at the wooden stern of the boat by the construction personnel, i.e., by carpenters. Since the great accuracy required by the manufacturer of the boat drive as regards the position of the driving engine to the boat drive, properly speaking, is not assured with this engine mount at the stern of the boat, dependent on six securing plates, complicates, time-consuming and therefore costly adjusting operations at the three engine support places are therefore required in order to avoid axial displacements or offsets between the engine output shaft and the drive or input shaft of the drive which lead to damages in the drive.

The present invention is concerned with the task to create an elastic bearing support of a boat drive in which the disadvantages of the prior art boat drives resulting both from the double function of the bearing and sealing elements as well as from the extensive adjusting operations are eliminated.

As solution to the underlying problems, the present invention proposes that the engine, in an axis extending transversely of the boat at least approximately through the center of gravity of the engine, is supported by a frame means connected with the support plate means, and is further supported and centered in the supporting plate means by elastic means cooperating with a centering neck portion of the engine surrounding the output shaft thereof.

According to the present invention, the elastic element is arranged within a seal serving the purpose of sealing the engine and the interior of the boat whereby upon destruction of this sea], the penetration of sea water into the interior of the boat is prevented also by the elastic element.

The essential advantages of the present invention reside in that by the special construction of the elastic three-point bearing support of the engine, there results simultaneously a completely satisfactory centering of the engine during the assembly and a damping of the vibrations and noises transmitted from the engine to the stern of the boat.

Further advantages of the present invention reside in that, in addition to the separation of the functions of the engine support, the engine centering and the sealing of the engine and of the interior of the boat, whereby in an advantageous manner the individual functions and the individual parts of the support, centering and seal means can each be constructed and designed in an optimum manner, a securing and mounting of the entire boat drive is created whose assembly advantageously requires no additional adjusting operations of the engine to the drive of the boat. As a result thereof, all of the adjusting devices and the like as well as the extensive, time-consuming and therefore extraordinarily costly adjusting operations on the part of the boat builder are eliminated during the assembly of the boat drive, whence a considerable reduction in cost is achieved.

A further advantage of the present invention resides in that changes in the position of the engine and/or of the drive when the boat drive is in operation, which are caused by elastic yielding of the wood of the stern of the boat, as may occur with the drive according to US. Pat. No. 3,259,099, can have no effect on the position of the engine relative to the boat drive with the common securing and mounting of the engine and of the drive for the ships propeller at the metal support plate separate from the stern of the boat in accordance with the present invention.

These and further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing which shows, for purposes of illustration only, two embodiments in accordance with the present invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a somewhat schematic side view, partly in cross section, of the stern of a boat with a boat drive installed into the same in accordance with the present invention; and

FIGS. 2 and 3are partial cross-sectional views, on an enlarged scale, through two different embodiments illustrating the details of the parts located within the circle A of FIG. 1.

Referring now to the drawing, wherein like reference numerals are used throughout the various views to designate like parts, and more particularly to FIG. 1, the boat drive according to the present invention consists essentially of an engine 2 arranged on the inside of the boat 1 and of an outboard gearing or drive 6 for a ship's propeller 7 operatively connected with the engine output shaft 3 by way of a joint 4 (FIGS. 2 and 3) which is sealed with respect to the sea water by a bellows 5. Both the engine 2 as also the drive 6 is thereby secured at a support plate 9 arranged at the stern 8 of the boat.

The engine 2 is thereby elastically supported in or approximately in an axis extending transversely of the boat through the center of gravity of the engine on a frame structure ll detachably connected with the support'plate 9 by means of bolts 10. The support frame 11 is constructed in the embodi ment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 1 of tubular or pipe construction.

However, according to a modified embodiment of the present invention, 'not illustrated in the drawing, the support frame and support plate can also be constructed as integral structural unit made of welded construction or of a unitary casting.

For the support of the engine 2, the latter is elastically supported by way of rubber elements 12 at the free ends of the support frame 11. The centering of the engine 2 takes place by means of a center neck portion 13 flangedly connected to the engine 2 as well as a ring-shaped rubber element 14 arranged in the support plate 9. The rubber element 14 is thereby retained in an annular gap formed by the outer surface 15 of the support plate 9, an annularly shaped extension 16 arranged at the support plate 9, as well as a securing disk 17 i threadably connected against the axially facing end surface of the extension 16. The outer surface and the end face 21 of the securing disk 17 mayas illustrated, be parallel or conically inclined to one another.

The sealing means, illustrated in FIG. 2, of the engine 2 and of the interior of the boat with respect to the sea water as well as the sealing means of the joint 4 between the engine output shaft 3 and the drive 6 takes place by means of the bellows 5 which is in sealing connection at its end facing the engine 2 with the extension 16 so that the rubber element 14 serving for the centering of the engine, is arranged inside of the seal means, i.e., in the part of the boat drive sealed against the sea water and therefore does not have to carry out any scaling function. If, however, a destruction of the bellows 5 occurs, then the elastic rubber element 14 prevents the penetration of sea water into the interior of the boat. The extension 16 is provided with an annular groove 18 into which engages a corresponding bead or bulge 19 of the bellows 5 whereby the bellows 5 is retained on the extension 16 by means of a clamping element 25.

In FIG. 3, the sealing of the engine 2 and of the interior of the boat also takes place by means of a bellows 5 serving for the sealing of the joint 4 between the engine output shaft 3 and the drive 6, as well as by means of a sealing surface 20 which is formed by the axial end surface of the extension 16 of the support plate 9 and by the end surface 21 of the securing disk 17 facing the support plate 9. The end faces of the two parts 16 and 17 which contact one another at the sealing surface 20 are thereby ground flat for increasing the sealing effect or, in order to achieve a sufficient sealing effect, any appropriate, conventional sealing means may be arranged between these two surfaces. The fastening of the end of the bellows 5 facing the engine takes place thereby at a flange 22 of the securing disk 17 whereby an annular groove 23 is arranged at the outer circumference of the flange 22 into which engages a corresponding bead or bulge 24 of the bellows 5'.

For the purpose of assembly of the entire boat drive, the support plate 9 is threadably secured at the boats stern 8. Thereupon, the frame structure 11 is secured at the support plate 9 by means of the screws or bolts 10. Thus, the support plate 9 represents a fixed, non-adjustable mount for the engine 2. On the other hand, the support plate 9 serves also for the mounting and support of the drive 6. Since also the centering of the engine 2 takes place in the support plate 9, axial displacements or offsets between the engine output shaft 3 and the drive or input shaft of the drive 6 are precluded in every case both in the horizontal as well as in the vertical plane. The time-consuming alignments and adjustments of the engine 2 with respect to the drive 6, which were necessary heretofore, are dispensed with in an advantageous manner by the centering of the engine 2 in the support plate 9. As a result thereof, during the installation of the entire boat drive, a considerable work simplification as well as a considerable work-time reduction are achieved. Additionally, installation errors, which, for example, lead to damages in the drive with non-aligned shafts, are avoided in every case.

While we have shown and described two embodiments in accordance with the present invention, it is understood that 'the same is not limited thereto, but is susceptible of numerous changes and modifications as known to a person skilled in the art, and we therefore do not wish to be limited to the details shown and described herein, but intend to cover all such changes and modifications as are within the scope of such persons skilled in the art.

We claim:

1. A boat drive which includes an engine disposed inboard and a drive for a ship's propeller disposed outboard, which are operatively connected with each other by a drive-transmitting means extending through the stern of the boat and sealed with respect to the sea water, in which both the engine as well as the propeller drive are secured on a support plate means receiving the weight of the entire drive and arranged at the stern of the boat, characterized in that the engine, in an axis extending transversely of the boat at least approximately through the center of gravity of the engine, is supported by a frame means connected with the support plate means. and is further supported and centered in the supporting plate means by elastic means cooperating with a centering neck portion of the engine surrounding the output shaft thereof.

2. A boat drive according to claim 1, wherein said elastic means is of substantially annular shape.

3. A boat drive according to claim 2, further comprising seal means for sealing the interior of the boat, said elastic means being arranged within said seal means. I

4. A boat drive according to claim 1, wherein said frame means is detachably secured at said support plate means, the engine being elastically supported on the free ends of the frame means by way of elastic elements.

5. A boat drive according to claim 4, wherein said frame means is of tubular construction.

6. A boat drive according to claim 4, wherein said frame means is of structural steel construction.

7. A boat drive according to claim 4, wherein said frame means is of cast construction.

8. A boat drive according to claim 1, wherein said frame means and said support plate means are an integral structural unit.

9. A boat drive according to claim 8, wherein said structural unit is of welded construction.

10. A boat drive according to claim 8, wherein said structural unit is of cast construction.

11. A boat drive according to claim 1, wherein said elastic means is arranged within an annular gap formed by the outer surface of the support plate means, an axially directed annularly shaped extension at the support plate means as well as a securing disk detachably secured against the end face of the extension.

12. A boat drive according to claim 11, wherein the outer surface of the support plate means and the end face of the securing disk extend substanitally parallel to each other.

13. A boat drive according to claim 11, wherein the outer surface of the support plate means and the end face of the securing disk are arranged conically inclined to one another.

14. A boat drive according to claim 11, further comprising seal means for sealing a joint means between the engine output shaft and the input shaft of the propeller drive, said seal means being constructed as bellows means which is operatively connected at one of its ends with the extension of the support plate means.

15. A boat drive according to claim 14, wherein the extens'ion is provided with an annular groove into which engages a corresponding bulge of the bellows means, said bellows means being clampingly retained on said extension by a clamping means.

16. A boat drive according to claim 11, further comprising seal means for sealing the engine and the interior of the boat including bellows means serving for the seal of a joint means between the engine output shaft and the input shaft of the propeller drive as well as a sealing surface which is formed by the axial end face of the extension of the support plate means and the end face of the securing disk.

17. A boat drive according to claim 16, comprising further sealing means between the axial end face of the extension of the support plate means and the end face of the securing disk.

18. A boat drive according to claim 16, wherein one end of the bellows means is operatively connected with an axial flange of the securing disk, an annular groove being provided along the outer circumference of said axial flange into which engages a corresponding bulge of the bellows means, and clamping means for holding said bellows means on said axial flange.

19. A boat drive according to claim 18, comprising further sealing means between the axial end face of the extension of the support plate means and the end face of the securing disk.

20. A boat drive according to claim 1, further comprising seal means for sealing the interior of the boat, said elastic means being arranged within said seal means. 

